Considering an independent surrogacy journey? 

Are you thinking of doing an independent surrogacy journey? Having a surrogacy agency behind you has major benefits for both the intended parents and surrogates. Coordinating a surrogacy journey is much more complex than one can imagine. 

A surrogacy journey, with Conceptual Options, begins from the date of your surrogate application. Our surrogate intake team will guide you every step of the way by explaining the commitment it takes to become a surrogate mother, requesting your medical records on your behalf, having those records reviewed by a third-party nurse who is familiar with the IVF requirements, arranging the surrogate psychological evaluation with licensed professionals that specializes in surrogate screening to ensure surrogacy is a right fit for you, running the proper background checks for all parties involved, etc. That is just the beginning of things. Conceptual Options understands that every individual has their own views of what their ideal surrogacy journey will look like. Anywhere from what type of families you are wanting to help, what type of relationship you would like to the types of medical procedures you are open to during the pregnancy, and more. With Conceptual Options as your surrogacy agency, we personalize all our matches to fit not only the intended parent’s ‘criteria’ but also your criteria as a surrogate. 

Keep in mind, a surrogacy journey is an average of a 12 to 15 months journey. It is important that you and your intended parents have similar expectations and belief system.

During the complexity of your surrogacy journey there are: 

• arrangements of escrow to secure funds prior to a pregnancy is confirmed, 
• medical referrals with sensitive information to the IVF clinic, 
• assisting you with coordination of IVF doctor’s appointments, 
• assisting you with the coordination of outside monitoring appointments and payments if you are not local to your intended parents’ IVF clinic, 
• legal referrals to attorneys that specialize in this industry for the drafting of the gestational surrogacy agreement with sensitive information shared with the professionals involved which does not necessarily need to be shared directly with intended parents or surrogates, 
• assisting you through the proper channels for gaining medical insurance specifically for your surrogacy pregnancy/delivery care and costs, 
• assisting you with selecting the appropriate OBGYN doctors and hospitals within a network of your insurance, 
• sharing updates with all parties, 
• providing you, as a surrogate, with Conceptual Options, emotional support throughout the entire surrogacy journey and even after delivery, 
• ensuring all medical bills and health insurance premiums related to the surrogacy pregnancy incurred are paid on your behalf through escrow, 
• sending out pre-birth order referrals to attorneys that specialize in this industry with sensitive information to the attorneys who will draft the legal judgment releasing you, as the surrogate from all the legal rights and obligations to the baby you are carrying and transferring those legal rights and obligations to the intended parent(s) you are carrying for, 
• guiding you through the hospital registration for delivery and communicating with the staffed social worker ensuring they have the proper documentation, so they are aware this is a surrogacy pregnancy/delivery, and more.

Given that surrogacy is so complex, we, Conceptual Options, as your agency, are here to alleviate you from the business standpoints of your journey. With our professional staff and agency that has specialized in this industry for over two decades, we will handle all the logistical matters associated with your surrogacy; this way you can solely focus on a positive pregnancy outcome stress free, enjoy your journey together with your intended parent(s), and have a positive relationship with your intended parent(s). 

When considering an independent journey, you can rest assured that you will be required to do a lot on your end as well as the intended parent(s). Conceptual Options has managed thousands of cases to perfect the coordination of surrogacy journeys and is forever evolving only for the better to make this as seamless as possible experience for everyone.

Okay, at this point you have now read the gist of things. Another sensitive point to keep in mind are the financials associated with surrogacy. We all know money is always a sensitive subject! It is important the intended parents are well informed about the realistic fees to expect with a surrogacy journey. We, as your agency, ensure to provide a transparent detailed breakdown of the fees associated with surrogacy. It is important for intended parent(s) to understand the financial commitment this takes and that it is feasible for them to pursue surrogacy prior to engaging with a surrogate. Many of those outside of this profession can easily say, “Oh, I have been through IVF so many times and have a full understanding” or “I have already discussed with my IVF doctor and communicated with an attorney- we got this”. But the reality of things there is so much more to it! As an independent journey progresses, there will be, without doubt, little things here and there will arise that were not thought out beforehand which will keep increasing the out-of-pocket costs of intended parents. Those surprising increases of costs will begin to make a dent in the intended parent(s) financials putting the surrogate at risk in many ways. If the intended parents were not properly educated from the beginning, the surrogate is now at risk of, to name a few: not receiving the compensation that was initially agreed upon, not having medical bills paid on time resulting in collections, not having the proper legal documentation on time prior to the birth, and more. This puts you as a surrogate, and even the intended parents, at risk of being in an unwanted situation. The unwanted situation will not only have a negative perspective of your surrogacy journey but can also affect you financially in the long run. Even if it was without the bad intentions of the intended parents and could very much be due to lack of information, you as a surrogate are putting yourself at several risks with an independent journey. 

Now, you are probably thinking, “there are gestational surrogacy agreements put into place that they would be breaching if they do not pay”. Yes, you are absolutely correct. The intended parents would be in breach of contract in an event as such; however, there are more things to consider. Example, how can you begin to pursue legal action? Can you sue them? How much is it going to cost you up font in out-of-pocket costs to even explorer this suit? Who is going to guide you through all this? What is your support system here? How long will it take before you have an outcome? What are the jurisdictions in place to assist you and your attorney with this pursuit? The list goes on…

With Conceptual Options as your agency, you will not have to worry about any of this. We, Conceptual Options, ensure your intended parents are properly educated and guided throughout the process. Financials, protocols, process, and procedures are huge topics that are discussed prior to even beginning the potential matching process. We ensure funds are secured in escrow before a pregnancy is even confirmed. Of course, payments are made according to your gestational surrogacy agreement and majority of funds are sitting in escrow until needed to be disbursed. To some, that may seem a bit outrageous and may want to pursue an independent journey so they can feel like they have more control of the fund management… but is it really that outrageous? No, it is not! The purpose of our agency, third-party escrow account, fertility attorneys, IVF clinics, licensed insurance brokers etc. are to ensure allparties are being taken care of in their best interest. Any funds that were not required to be used for the purpose of the surrogacy will be fully refunded to the intended parent(s) after the surrogacy journey is complete and the escrow account is ready to be closed. That’s not so outrageous, right? As a surrogate you want to do a good deed and help a family have a baby. Why risk yourself and your family financially attempting to do this good deed? 

Here at Conceptual Options, we are very passionate about what we do. We are a neutral party that focuses on guiding you and intended parent(s) throughout this process and facilitating the logistical matters involved with surrogacy so you do not have to, and you can focus on a positive experience.